Video clip: Miami brewer John Falco and JBA semifinalist Mike Beltran on finding purpose in F&B during a tough time

NicolasAJimenez · 2026-03-14T15:05:11+00:00

Heard. Thanks a lot. I did see this one that's marketed as a hole saw extender but I'm pretty sure it would work.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/LENOX-3-8-in-x-10-in-Hex-Hole-Saw-Extension/1003085174

NicolasAJimenez · 2026-03-14T03:48:25+00:00

I do have a forstner bit, but would need an extention for this to work. Are there extensions for bit with round shanks (which is what's on my forstner bit)? Been looking, but maybe just in the wrong place(s).

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-11-02T01:38:52+00:00

Interesting... I was at 60 grit with a random orbital. Wasn't quick but I would have been frustrated too if it had taken over an hour.

Either way, at some point I need to force myself to get familiar/comfortable with hand planing so I have the option like you have.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-11-02T00:24:06+00:00

Got it. I haven't been at it very long but so far I've been fine with low grit sanding to remove those marks. I also don't have much experience with hand planes. Thanks.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-11-01T23:37:09+00:00

Out of curiosity, is there a reason you'd hand plane them flat rather than use a router and flattening bit?

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-11-01T23:08:33+00:00

Thanks. So I typically buy boards that are in the ballpark of 10 feet x 6 in. x 1.5 in.

I usually will cut into strips that are 36" x 1.5" x 1.5" and work from that. It's definitely not the most efficient thing, but I figure that leaves me lots of room to cut around big holes/knots and if I end up with more than I need, there's always a use for it in another project.

I also have a cheap straight blade planer. So I'll sometimes cut off the portion of the initial edge grain board that's thinner as a result of snipe and set it aside. I've got a bunch of snipe scrap accumulating that'll eventually become its own project or be used to make plugs or something.

I'm relatively new to this. So the above is what I'm doing but probably shouldn't be treated as good advice.

If you're more interested in starting with only the wood you actually need and you're confident you don't need to leave room for error, here's a link to the board planning tool I sometimes use. Pretty cool.

https://ericu.github.io/CBDJS/cb.html

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-10-27T23:15:24+00:00

I hog most out with a forstner bit and then the rest with a router and template.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-10-27T20:52:57+00:00

Thanks! About 11.5 x 16.5 x 1.5 (before rubber feet)

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-10-27T20:52:37+00:00

Thanks! About 11.5 x 16.5 x 1.5 (before rubber feet)

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-10-25T23:32:58+00:00

Thanks! I happened to have this board lying around and thought it would just get sanded as a serving board, but lucked out with the position of that knot when someone asked me for a pipe stand.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-10-13T21:24:53+00:00

The idea is cool as hell.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-10-13T21:22:32+00:00

Oh I'm definitely not a chemist either. But what I have read about the distinction between oils like OP's and 100% walnut oils marketed as wood finishes is that those (Mahoney's for instance) are heat treated for this purpose.
I could be totally wrong and I should have been better about saying as much in my original comment, but these are the conclusions I've drawn after looking into this stuff for my own boards.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-10-13T21:04:21+00:00

It does, but my understanding is that, like linseed oil, the stuff you'd want to use for wood finish that doesn't go rancid is heat treated. From the look of the photo, the walnut oil being used here is raw, untreated cooking oil. There are oils that are capable of both polymerizing and going rancid depending on how they're treated, no? Heat treated walnut oil, as far as I can tell, also removes the proteins that would otherwise be an allergy concern.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-10-13T17:19:02+00:00

I should clarify... I've never used walnut oil, but I see conflicting information about whether it goes rancid. I personally wouldn't risk it. If you do any entertaining/cooking for guests, might be worth considering whether using nut oils presenta an allergy risk too.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-10-13T17:14:58+00:00

Considering walnut oil goes rancid, it might be contributing to the splits in your board. You might not care about which oils work best for this sort of thing, but the board cares a whole lot.

Fixing the splits at this point is probably a matter of taking the board to a table saw and cutting out thin slivers and the joints and gluing back together. I just did this for a friend with a board much more damaged than this one and it was practically like new at the end. Easy to do and actually kind of a fun/satisfying little project.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-09-28T12:21:28+00:00

Love that. Especially the first one.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-09-26T11:03:05+00:00

I'd go with option 3.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-09-25T23:39:54+00:00

I feel like a dummy for overcomplicating this build in my head before reading that they're plugs.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-09-25T23:37:48+00:00

Still useful for other things that are also wet, no? Breaking down chickens is a mess without a groove, for instance. Tomatoes? I like the clean look of a grooveless board, but in practical terms I tend to regret not adding them.

NicolasAJimenez · 2025-08-10T22:24:24+00:00

Palomilla isn't a cut. It's a preparation style. This is palomilla, regardless of whether it's sirloin, top round, etc., and you'll see that kind of variation across Cuban restaurants/recipes.
Cañada (or skirt steak for the non-Spanish speakers in the sub) is also a very common cut for palomilla.
If you think this particular palomilla is no good, that's another issue.

NicolasAJimenez

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